Tools/Insertion Loss Calculator

Insertion Loss Calculator

Calculate PCB trace loss including conductor and dielectric losses

Loss Parameters

Trace Length (inches)

Frequency (GHz)

Trace Width (mil)

Copper Thickness (oz)

Dielectric Constant (εr)

Loss Tangent (tan δ)

Surface Roughness RMS (μm)

Standard copper: 0.3-0.5 μm, RTF: 1-2 μm, VLP: <0.3 μm

Loss Analysis

Total Insertion Loss

12.59 dB

1.259 dB/inch

Loss Breakdown

63%

37%

Conductor: 7.96 dBDielectric: 4.62 dB

Signal Remaining

23.5%

Skin Depth

0.93 μm

Roughness Factor

1.24x

Conductor Loss

63%

High - Requires active compensation

PCB Material Properties

Material	εr	tan δ	Frequency Range
Standard FR-4	4.3-4.5	0.020-0.025	Up to 3 GHz
High-Speed FR-4	4.0-4.2	0.012-0.015	Up to 6 GHz
Megtron 6	3.4	0.002	Up to 25 GHz
Rogers 4350B	3.48	0.004	Up to 10 GHz
Rogers 4003C	3.55	0.003	Up to 10 GHz
Isola I-Speed	3.6	0.007	Up to 12 GHz
Taconic TLY	2.2	0.0009	Up to 40 GHz

For high-speed designs (>5 Gbps), low-loss materials and smooth copper are critical. Surface roughness can increase conductor loss by 50% or more at high frequencies.

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